⏱️This edition of the National Account’s newsletter is a four-minute read.
👋 G’day everyone, Archie here, with a quick hit of some things you should know on your Monday arvo.
The TLDR is:
Uber is raising prices to help drivers pay for fuel.
Just how much the state and territory governments make from gambling
Let’s dive in.
We will continue working with Uber and other platforms towards getting fair pay and conditions in place for ride-share workers as soon as possible
🗣️ Why did he say that?
Rideshare passengers will be spending an extra five cents per kilometre on all trips from 15 April to 8 June, as the industry deals with rising petrol prices.
Global oil prices have skyrocketed since the beginning of the war in the middle east and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route.
As a result, in Australia the price of Unleaded 91 has gone from $1.72 in February to $2.23 in April, an increase of about 30%.
Uber says 100% of the revenue from the surcharge will be going back to drivers to help them pay for fuel.
Competing rideshare platform, DiDi, brought in the same fuel surcharge for its drivers nearly a month ago.
Transport Workers Union national secretary, Michael Kaine, said drivers are struggling with the increase in costs and the move from Uber acknowledges this.
“We will continue working with Uber and other platforms towards getting fair pay and conditions in place for ride-share workers as soon as possible," said Kaine.
The government earns a pretty penny from the pokies 🎰
Last week I had a look at who owned the hotels that made the most from pokies in New South Wales and Victoria.
Today, I decided to see who else is making money from the estimated $32 billion Australians lose to gambling every year.
In each of the state and territory budget papers, the governments show how much they expect to receive from gambling revenue that year.
Amajority also break it down, revealing how much of the revenue comes exclusively from electronic gaming machines (pokies).
Watch the video below for the full story.
Thanks for the catch-up, if you’ve got any feedback, tips or anything else you think I should know, reply to this email (I do see and respond to as many as I can). 👋
I’ll be back on Wednesday.
Cheers, Archie